Update 19

Ryan & Tony arrived somewhat late after a delay in their flight. To get to Sea Star that was anchored in Taormina Bay they took a train to Giardini, a taxi to the Hotel Capotaromina and a tender that picked them up at the hotel dock and brought them to Sea Star around 10 PM. The next dy we toured Taormina and the following day sailed to Siracusa, spent the night and did some sightseeing before sailing down to Porto Palo on the SE corner of Sicily. The next morning we set out 55 NM to Valletta, Malta. The entrance into Grand Harbor was spectacular. We got a berth in
Grand Harbor Marina, very nice but also very expensive. The next day we moved to Msida Marina, for 18 Euros a day, the cheapest marina since leaving the Azores. On Saturday we left Valletta and sailed to the Blue Lagoon on the island of Comino. It was packed with bathers but we swam around and enjoyed the scenery and people watching. Later we sailed over to Gozo and into an anchorage that was surrounded by 300 ft cliffs. There were two caves that were connected and we of course went through them. This was one of the most scenic anchorages I have been in. On Sunday we sailed back to the west side of Malta and anchored in a bay that I cannot pronounce or spell. It looked like a lunar landscape around us. We are now back at Msida Marina where I will be until I pull Sea Star for the winter. Ryan and Tony fly out this afternoon and I begin the process of preparing Sea Star for the winter.
Paul
Two slide shows at:
http://www.larsonweb.net/pdf/Taormina-Siracusa.pdf
http://www.larsonweb.net/pdf/Malta.pdf